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RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C. — More than 125 pest management professionals from throughout the United States traveled to North Carolina on Wednesday to learn about recent technology advancements at BASF Professional Pest Control, as well as gain a better understanding of the company’s sales and marketing initiatives in support of Termidor® and Phantom® in 2005.
The two-day event opened with introductory comments by Karl Kisner, senior marketing manager, BASF, and a video devoted to the topic of innovation, citing such noted American innovators as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Bill Gates. Like these giants of industry, Kisner said, “BASF is committed to being a pest control industry innovator,” providing products and services that revolutionize the industry and “add value” to BASF’s customer relationships. Kisner cited two recent label enhancements as tangible examples of the company’s ongoing commitment to innovation – the new Phantom food label and Termidor PerimeterPLUS.™ The amended Phantom label allows for use of the insecticide in food/feed product areas of food/feed handling establishments, where food and food products are held, processed, prepared and/or served. “This new label provides you with even greater application flexibility with the product,” he said, in some of the most difficult locations to control ants and roaches – food-handling areas. In addition to the food-handling amendment, Kisner said EPA also granted an amended Phantom label for application to pest entry points on the exterior surfaces of structures. PMPs may begin using the amended label as soon as Phantom labeling that reflects this amended use is registered in each of the states. Kisner also reviewed the amended usage directions for Termidor® SC and Termidor® 80 WG termiticide-insecticides for use as an Exterior Perimeter/Localized Interior Treatment™ (EP/LIT), when used for post construction control of subterranean termites within a structure. The new directions-for-use amendment, called Perimeter PLUS, provides an option for effective protection from termites with an application that is significantly less invasive to the structure than a “conventional” post-construction liquid termiticide treatment. “It’s the first major liquid application labeling change in decades,” Kisner said, resulting in “less labor, less time, less pesticide and less disruption to the homeowner.” The label is currently registered in 45 states. Kisner’s presentation was followed by an informative session on subterranean termite inspections by Bill Kolbe, market development specialist, BASF. A Board Certified Entomologist and a 30-year veteran of the industry, Kolbe said 70 percent of all general liability insurance claims stem from WDI infestations and improper inspections. That’s why he impresses upon termite technicians that they’re the “eyes and ears” of the industry. Kolbe recommends that termite technicians visit construction sites early on in their training. “Let them look at the footing. Look at the foundation. Check out the utility lines. It’s better than any video,” he said. “The most important elements in providing effective termite control are experience and (proper) training of termite specialists,” he said. In yet another educational session, Dr. Ed Vargo, associate professor of entomology at North Carolina State University, shared the initial results of a research study focusing on DNA marking to document elimination of Reticulitermes spp. colonies under field conditions following labeled applications of Termidor. Vargo said genetic marking “can provide a powerful way to distinguish between different (termite) colonies” and offers numerous benefits over traditional mark-recapture studies. “It works over any period of time,” he said. “You get fast results in a few days. Small samples can be used. And you can get a lot of information on the social organization (of a colony).” Some of the disadvantages of this research technique are its high cost and it requires a high level of technical skill. In all, Vargo studied eight homes with active termite infestations in the Raleigh-Durham area. While the research is ongoing, Vargo briefly summarized the results of the first-year study: • Houses had many colonies infesting the yard with up to four infesting a single structure. • Most colonies were simple families with localized foraging areas. • Both full and PerimeterPLUS treatments effectively protected structures. • All five colonies infesting the structure were not found again after treatment and presumably eliminated. • Seven of eight colonies in treated areas were not found again and were presumably eliminated. “We’ll be finishing up the study and have the rest of the data on all eight houses in a year,” Vargo said. Rounding out the day’s educational sessions was a brief presentation by “Doc” Nichols of Middleton Pest Control, who shared his company’s experience with Termidor. Between 2000 and 2004, Nichols said Middleton Pest Control treated more than 11,000 accounts with Termidor, producing excellent results. “How do you know the program really works?” he asked. “You can look at your retreat rate. You can look at your damage claims.” In both cases, Nichols said, Termidor outperformed the previous “gold standard” in the industry – chlordane. “When I was using the product, the retreat rates for chlordane were five to seven percent,” he said. Middleton’s retreat rate with Termidor is less than two percent, and Nichols says, “I know it was not chemical failure” in those cases. “It was something other than the chemical.” A second BASF Summit will be held next week in Dallas, Texas. For additional information about any of the products or services offered by BASF Professional Pest Control visit www.pestcontrolfacts.com.